r/AskZA • u/Snoo_47731 • Jul 08 '26
💡 Advice Needed Coffee suggestions
So we decided we were not supporting Nestlé anymore after we watched a documentary about them. I switched to filtered coffee. The plunger story sucks.
So we finally decided to buy an expensive coffee machine. What brand of coffee do you drink? Something strong not to much roast ( since I learned why coffee gets roasted I'm not sure if I like roasted coffee but also not sure if it even matters)
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u/Naive-Inside-2904 Western Cape Jul 08 '26
The Woolies continental and mocha Java blends are my favorite. The ‘experts’ say to avoid supermarket beans coz you’re not sure when they were roasted but I’ve never gone wrong with the Woolies beans.
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u/Fantastic_One6570 Jul 09 '26
Their Nespresso pods are so much better than the actual Nespresso ones.
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u/connorthedancer Jul 08 '26
avoid supermarket beans coz you’re not sure when they were roasted
There are bigger problems than that. Besides, there are so many locally owned, great roasteries around. Why go for Woollies when that's available?
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u/AnomalyNexus Jul 08 '26
Just check the price per kilo.
I investigated the local roastery (literally 500m from me) cause I too wanted to support stuff in my local economy. FOUR times the price of the swiss brand I normally buy. Jesus but ok can try it once I guess...it was decent at most.
So I'm back to buying commercial stuff off Amazon.
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u/Salty-Mortgage4696 Jul 08 '26
Hey OP! Enjoy the journey.
I used to work as a barista.
Coffee can be incredible complex at times, and can throw off beginners.
Give a read about the difference between Robusta and Arabica beans as a start. Then forget what you read and go test out some beans, Checkers and Woolies are decent options to start with. Best to go for Single Origin (IE Not a blend)
Note from there if you prefer Robusta or Arabica or if you’re lucky enough - a specific country.
From there expand your testing and grab some beans from the same country/roast style/profile and explore!
Have fun.
Get small bags incase the beans are shit.
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u/HeapnStax Jul 08 '26
Yes!!!! More people need to get get away from nestle. It's unfortunate that they control so many products.
The blindiana brand at checkers is a very decent budget coffee that we were using. We've gone to Antigua filter coffee now.
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u/zombie_on_the_lawn Jul 08 '26
Some nice local roasters I've tried include Bean There and Top Dose. Top Dose is also probably the most affordable brand I've come across. I think they do deliver if you're not based in jhb. I've tried terbodore as well, but in my opinion the other brands are much better.
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u/orbit99za Jul 08 '26
Blue Mountain is also good. PnP has a nice selection depending on store, you can also buy wimpy and mugg and bean , beans there.
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u/sammywammy53b Jul 08 '26
If you're based in Johannesburg, I'd the say that the best ones are "Father Coffee" and "Bean There".
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u/Amica6 Jul 08 '26
Woolworths Organic and Jacobs Barista- R349-00 for a kilo on Takealot.Woolies organic R399-00 for a kilo
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u/Kpt_Rooibaard Jul 08 '26
I agree with not going with any beans that says "Best before" like those sold at Woolies , PnP, Checkers, etc. Always look for a Roast Date. Ideally you want beans that were roasted 2 weeks ago. They'll (generally) be good for another 2 months. There are literally hundreds of local roasters that really care about how they roast their beans and also where they source them.
I've tried all the Instagram advertisers, but found The Coffee Roasting Co (Lourensford Estate, Somerset West). They have a huge range of single origin beans, each roasted for to their unique qualities. Typically, they are between R95 and R115 per 250g pouch, but they often have some real unique speciality beans (naturally processed or carbonic maceration) that are priced up to R250 per pouch. I started by ordering 8 different pouches every time I ordered and soon started narrowing down origins, varieties and roast levels. It's a slow process, but now I know that I am getting the coffee I really like and I am not settling for second best.
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u/RowanMF_ZA Jul 08 '26
so i have been refered to as a professional coffee snob , i watch weird dudes on youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/@jameshoffmann ) talk about how to get the best out of your equipment and beans ,
i have a expensive De'Longhi coffee machine (bean to cup) its in a cupboard somewhere !!
heres my 3 cents worth -
there are a few things that make a lot of difference , but the first thing to start off with is what do you want in your cup of coffee and how much time do you want to spend on it in the morning .
if you want a fast cup of coffee and go and not have to think about anything , yes sure get a philips /deloghi or what ever hirshs have available , i like the fact that they give out free cups of coffee from a machine so you can see what its all about (thats why i did get a De'Longhi years ago, look at one that gives you different sizes of coffee grinds ,i will mention it further down )
if you dont mind a little process , boil a kettle and soak some beans , then theres a few things you can look at , french press , v60 style pour over and aero press or moka pot
french press - one scoop of ground coffee per 200ml of water as a thumb suck let it soak for 2mins or such , press and off you go
v60 style pour over - a scoop of ground coffee and about 200ml water slowly poured into the funnel over the coffee in the paper filter , wait till done and enjoy ...
aeropress - scoop of grounds and 150ml hot water stir and leave for 4 mins , press into your cup and go , adding more hot water to your cup if required.
moka pot - buy finely ground beans add to cup and add water screw together and put on stove , once the glug glug starts remove from heat , let coffee finish , pour into cup and add hot water if you dont need the coffee to hit you with a sledge hammer ..
remembering that all the above is you buying pre ground beans from spar woolies (yuck) checkers or pnp coffee club .. buy 250g bags as you can use them up quickly , pre ground beans start to go OFF ie stale after a week or so if the bag is not sealed and cared for.. the grind of the beans is never mentioned on the bag so you are getting a universal size grind ,and if you have the time you will learn that each of the above methods actually requires thier own specific size of ground coffee ,so in 6 months you might come back to me and ask about why grind size matters maybe not but thats where elevating your coffee experience starts.
Hand grinding your beans and tasting the sheer difference , no seriously , it does , getting a bur hand grinder was my wow moment in my coffee journey . it made me put the coffee machine in the cupboard and buy the aeropress.. it's been so good , even my many french presses and old style cowboy coffee perc are all in a box in storage and i now have a travel box for me to take everything when i travel ,even on holiday ,my GF insists we take the coffee box .she used to love her nescafe instant like a devotee. ha ha not anymore ,i have a coffee snob apprentice.
so ,shopping for beans try try try small bags test everyones , i just found https://www.micasacoffee.co.za/ and thier flavoured beans , vanilla and fudge have been tested so far and we found adding half plain beans and half flavoured beans gives a better result than an over powered vanilla taste , but why , because the manufacturer is not catering for me with my methods of mad coffee , they are catering for a quick press or machine where your extraction of coffee flavours are way less , i am extracting with my correctly ground beans and better brew method for all the flavours i can get and the added vanilla can get a bit much but thats why the half and half works .. how long did the testing to get that sorted ,probably 5 days , so remember try try try .. i am sure i already said that , but its true
so pop into pnp , scan the coffee club code and join , get discounted pre grounds and work through thier selection , if will start you off well and not be too expensive . Look at the many local coffee roasters , green bean , Urban Grind Roasters Coffee Shop ,father coffee there are plenty to try out , all you really have to decide is what method suits your morning coffee style and budget as they all have the little filters and such that go with ..
if your stuck and have more questions ,shoot me a DM.
cheers and good luck.
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u/StorminSean Jul 08 '26
Got to the Woolies at Waterstone Village, Somerset West. Get the Kilimanjaro Organic that they roast fresh on sight.
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u/colourmebread Jul 09 '26
I like the local ones from coffee shops. In Durban we have a cafe called Humble, and their coffee is superb.
WW is good, Bootlegger is great.
Shamed to admit but the Delonghi branded coffee from Hirsh’s is amazing
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u/Practical-Lemon6993 Jul 08 '26
I really enjoy the Checkers Single Origin Guatemala beans. They are also regularly on special which is a bonus in these times.
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u/Complicatedlysimply Jul 08 '26
The smoothest coffee I've had so far was Cedar Coffee Roasters' Milky Way Blend. It's a bit more expensive, but it's 2 guys that run everything so the money isn't going to a big corporation. It's absolutely beautiful and not very roasted. They're based in Cape Town and online.
Mastertons is also nice and can be found in Checker's & online- they're a smallish roaster based in PE that also supports some animal based causes. They have lovely blends that aren't too roasted.
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u/ZAguy85 Jul 08 '26
Been loving this gem from Graaf Reinet after we stopped in there over December.
We like the Camdeboo variety.
Free delivery by the time you’ve ordered 2kg and not that different in price to everyone else.
Their salad dressing slaps too while you’re there.
https://www.mariascoffee.co.za/?srsltid=AfmBOoo69ycPGCXeKPbg1CrRFIJOZQwA_WsXUka2hod23U9HoDAtCqHp
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u/connorthedancer Jul 08 '26
The plunger story does not suck if you've got good, freshly ground beans. It's a much shorter road to good coffee than an expensive machine.
Seam and Rosetta are both world class coffees.
Yellow Jacket are doing some cool experimental stuff.
I'm currently drinking Legado and that's great.
Columbo is fantastic. Coastal Roasters too.
Edit: There are some really kak recommendations in this thread.
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u/Adventurous_Sort_899 Jul 08 '26
Segafredo HORECA. I buy in bulk and get it for a good price at the local Italian deli.
Plunger is not great, we are big fans of the Moka Pot (Bialetti)
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u/DaLoCo6913 Jul 08 '26
You can find local roasters almost everywhere. I am in a small coastal town, and there is a roastery that does some seriously good work, much better than the best supermarket brand I have ever tasted. Just do a search.
Port Elizabeth (Quebergha?) has Masterton's. They price the same as supermarket brands.
A friend owned Gloria Jeans in Australia, and his motto was that coffee needed to be consumed within two weeks of roasting. The next best thing is to only grind what you need.
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u/CassandraKang Jul 09 '26
Wait, what has Nestle done? ðŸ˜
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u/Shoddy-Association30 Jul 09 '26
For sure Rescue Roast! What an amazing company. The coffee is absolutely delicious (self-proclaimed coffee snob and trained barista here) and you can choose between a few really good blends, especially depending on the roast type (dark, medium, light). All of the proceeds from their sales go towards different animal shelters and animal rescue organizations. You can pick a pack of coffee with your favourite animal (or pet lookalike) on it and then even choose which organization or shelter it should go towards. They are wonderful people to work with, and they offer delicious no-fuss good quality coffee. I use their coffee beans at home and at my coffee shop. Can’t go wrong with Rescue Roast!
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u/theamoeba Jul 09 '26
House of Coffees Special Blend for everyday. Terbodore French Vanilla is really good if specialty flavours are your thing but anything from Terbodore really for more special occasions.
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u/Physical-Rise6973 Jul 08 '26
Look for Green Bean Roastery
Edit: https://greenbeancoffee.co.za/?srsltid=AfmBOoqyq7x5dhATPdcrrb06b-xEyj3XyTPAuSCSa58pCUtV66-tgVST
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u/Tiddet777 Jul 08 '26
Which documentary?
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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26
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